Harrells Christian Academy boys’ basketball coach Clayton Hall has fielded all sorts of phone calls from college coaches across the region on rising junior forward Quate McKinzie in recent months. The one from UNCW assistant Takayo Siddle on Thursday morning was different. It came with a scholarship offer.

The Seahawks new coaching staff under Kevin Keatts has prioritized recruiting in North Carolina, and McKinzie, a Burgaw native, became the first local player to get an offer from the Seahawks since the change.

The 6-foot-7, 195-pound McKinzie has drawn interest from schools such as Clemson, East Carolina, Coastal Carolina and N.C. State. There could be more offers coming with a strong summer on the AAU circuit with the Chris Paul-sponsored CP3 All-Stars, but the UNCW offer served to break the ice. (Here’s a feature on McKinzie from the high school season.)

“(McKinzie) seemed really excited,” Hall said. “It was definitely a big step for him this morning.”

McKinzie started for Pender as a freshman before transferring to the Sampson County private school last fall. He had 13.7 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game in 2013-2014 for the Crusaders, who went 17-6.

Pender coach Gary Battle compared the slim yet explosive forward to former UNCW star Keith Rendleman. He believes McKinzie has the potential to develop into a high-major recruit. He’ll likely project as either a small forward or a power forward in college, depending on how much he grows.

The UNCW staff hasn’t been out on the road recruiting yet. Keatts and his assistants opted to host recruits in Wilmington during the only live recruiting period since they took over. They won’t get their first chance to scout players in person until July, but that hasn’t stopped them from making offers.

Siddle has the most familiarity with the North Carolina-based recruits after serving the past fours seasons on the staff at Gardner-Webb.

After Siddle called Thursday morning, Hall quickly sent along McKinzie’s highlights to the UNCW coach. Later, the player called Siddle himself.

“(Siddle) said they heard about him and were looking to start building for (the 2016 class),” Hall said. “All they heard were good things, and they were ready to offer him.”

Hall said McKinzie’s summer will include a camp at ECU and AAU trips to Georgia and Las Vegas.

“My window to get everybody together for my team is pretty small working around his big schedule,” Hall said.